Social Presence: What Is It? How Do We Measure It?

• In Event: Instructional Technology SIG Paper Session: Presence, Interaction, and Engagement in Learning

Abstract

Social presence is a central concept in online learning. However, questions remain about the nature and development of social presence. Part of this is because most research has focused on students' perceptions of it rather than on how students it. This study explores how social presence manifests in a fully asynchronous online course in order to help educators understand how to design opportunities to establish and maintain social presence. This study employs a mixed-methods approach using three types of analysis to examine. The results suggest that social presence is more complicated than previously imagined and that situational variables such as group size, instructional task, and previous relationships might influence how social presence is established and maintained in an online course.

Author

• Patrick R. Lowenthal, Boise State University